India's state-owned Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) is advancing a significant tender for up to four specialized jack-up rigs, a move tied to its substantial $4.3 billion capital expenditure target for the 2025-2026 financial year. A sizeable portion of this capex is earmarked for development and exploration drilling, directly increasing the company's requirement for drilling rigs to support its operations off India's east and west coasts and meet the country's growing energy demand.

Tender Process and Front Runners

Following an international tender process launched last year for cantilever-type jack-ups capable of operating in water depths up to 300 feet, ONGC has opened bids and identified leading contenders. The selection is based on a quality-cum-cost model, moving away from the traditional lowest-bidder approach, though pricing remains a key factor. The front runners, in ranking order, are:

• Jindal Drilling, offering the jack-up Jindal Pioneer at a dayrate just above $100,000, is the top-ranked contender.
• Greatship, offering the jack-up Chetna.
• Aban Offshore, offering the jack-up Aban III.
• Shelf Drilling, offering the jack-up Parmeshwara.

Other bidders included Foresight Drilling and Dynamic Drilling, who are not currently front runners but could re-enter contention if preferred bidders back out.

Contract Award Process and Terms

ONGC is likely to enter negotiations with Jindal Drilling first. Subsequently, the other three contenders will be asked to match a price determined through ONGC's evaluation of technical and commercial merits. The contracts are expected to be lucrative five-year charters, among the most significant in the Asian region. ONGC aims to mobilize the awarded jack-up rigs within 180 days of contract signing.

Market Context and Dayrate Trends

The dayrates offered in this current tender show a marked improvement over those seen in ONGC's previous jack-up tender last year, which saw lower prices. This follows ONGC's awards from last year for four jack-ups, which included several domestic contractors and Shelf Drilling—the latter having secured a separate three-year, $40 million contract for the jack-up rig JT Angel at Mumbai High in July 2025.